


Cypress Cliffside

by VeryBennett



Category: Wentworth (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 15:00:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15051713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeryBennett/pseuds/VeryBennett
Summary: Vera overheard Channing and Jake talking about their plan for Joan and she is determined to save Joan.





	Cypress Cliffside

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I've had playing around in my mind for a long time and it was time to get it out. Please let me know what you think! I welcome all comments and kudos :D

She shouldn’t be here, really, she should not be here. It was shear happenstance she'd overheard Channing and Jake discussing their plans to "finally be free of The Freak" as they'd put it. She was disgusted by them. 

She'd been going to talk to Channing about taking a leave of absence, she'd had enough after the events in the yard that lead her to saving Joan's life. She heard their voices as she approached the hallway leading to his office and as she moved closer she heard their plans. She didn't want to believe that Will would be the one to bury Joan, alive, in a box in the woods. She became furious at hearing their plan and turned around on the spot.  _I have to find her._ She thought to herself, she didn't understand why, but she wasn't willing to lose Joan. 

The sun had nearly set and she was already deep enough in the woods behind the prison that she couldn't see her car behind her anymore. It was now that she realized she should have brought more than just herself. She didn't know what she should be looking for. How would she react if she found Will? What would she do if she managed to find Joan? What would she do if she didn't find her, or worse, if she didn't find her alive? 

She heard a faint noise in the distance and her heart rate increased. Without thought she changed course towards the sound. She tried to calm her mind from all the impossible what if's that were racing through her mind. She moved as quickly and quietly as she could. These woods had been undisturbed for a long time and she realized there were very few places anyone could hide, or bury a body, with all of the tall trees packed so close together. 

A flash of movement caught her eye and on instinct Vera hid herself behind a tree trunk.  She carefully moved her head to look more closely at what she'd seen. At first nothing was there but then she lowered her gaze to the ground. She almost missed it but she could make out a pair of prison issue shoes covered in dirt. She felt an elation that she couldn't describe. "Joan!" She whispered fiercely as she exhaled the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in. She'd found her. Joan was alive. 

****

Joan Ferguson awoke to find herself not in her usual prison bed. Her hands sat crossed on her chest, as they always did when she slept. She moved her right hand down the curve of her body towards whatever it was she lay upon. She felt wood. She moved her hand further, after only an inch or two of movement she was met with another piece of wood. She felt a tinge of fear spread through her entire body. She did the same motion with her left hand. She felt the other piece of wood to her left side. The fear grew. Both hands moved towards each other along the fourth piece of wood she’d encountered and they met. She was in a box. She screamed. 

After her rage was let out, she took a breath. Now was not the time to be angry. She had to find a way out of this. She thought for a moment of what she could do to be freed. She'd have to force her way out of the box. She took a deep breath and braced herself before she started to kick. She kicked with everything she had. She knew she was left in this box to die, she wouldn’t let herself die without a fight, and an oxygen starved attempt for freedom seemed better than a slow suffocation. She kicked and kicked, letting her anger fuel her.  

It took five strong, hard kicks to the same space before the box broke and dirt came pouring in. The force behind the kick had made a sizeable hole and from the rate that dirt was covering her legs, she knew she hadn’t been buried too deep. She kept kicking to make the hole larger. If she could free her legs of the box and the dirt she could get the rest of her body out and she could escape. Slowly the pieces of wood broke from the top of the box and came falling down. She used her hands to move the debris out of her way so she could still use her legs to expand the hole.

By the time the hole was big enough for her to be able to get both legs out and scoot down there was an uncomfortable amount of dirt to move around in the box. She moved her body in an uncomfortable and ungraceful fashion until she was free. She rose from her place on top of the broken box that would have been her coffin and looked around. She was deep in the woods. She knew she was outside the prison, the outline of the buildings through the trees was enough to tell her that. 

Joan knelt down and pushed as much dirt into the hole as she could. She tried to make it look as though she hadn't escaped. The ground was not level with the surrounding area but it looked like she hadn't gotten out, that was enough. She heard rustling in the trees behind her and thought it may have been whoever had put her here, coming back to make sure she was dead. She sprang up and faced the noise. 

“What are you doing here, Vera?” Joan asked from her place in the clearing, she could see her head poking out from behind the tree she was hiding behind. She watched Vera move around the tree and took in her appearance as she moved towards her. Vera’s hair was barely contained in the bun at the back of her neck. She looked sweaty and out of breath. Joan glanced down and saw that her left shin was bleeding and so was her right bicep, Vera seemed not to notice. 

“I can’t believe I found you.” Vera whispered quietly when she was finally standing in front of Joan. Their bodies did not touch but Vera stood directly in front of her. 

“How did you know I was here?” Joan’s hands flexed in anger at her sides as she spoke. 

Vera’s eyes found Joan’s before she spoke. “I overheard Channing talking to Jake about the plan. Will-” she paused and looked around. “Is he gone?” Gone had a different meaning as she said it. This gone had two potential meanings. Was he away from here? Or was he dead and in the box meant for Joan?

“He is not here.” Joan said as she kept eye contact with Vera. And they stared at each other. Both of their minds raced at the absurdity of the situation they found themselves in.

“My car is this way, we need to leave here.” Her words came out with an air of urgency to them. 

With no sign that Joan was going to try to avoid on coming with her, Vera turned around and began to lead Joan to her car. 

The sun was almost completely gone and they walked in silence as they headed out of the woods. As they approached the car, Vera pulled her keys from her pocket and silently gestured for Joan to get in. When they were both seated and comfortable, she put the car in drive. She didn't know what she was going to do but Joan was safe, that was all she needed to know.


End file.
